Smash Flash Chronicles Act V: Bleeding Heavens
by Battalion Ice
Summary: After four years, it's finally here! The sequel to the fun that started it all! Mario's victory over Captain Falcon leads to a series of unexpected, unstable, and tragic events. Who survived the bloodbath of the previous Act? Will a new leader arise from the forces of darkness? Discover the fate of Mario, Goku and all your favorite characters in this finale of the Demo World Saga.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.9b, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **I, am dying. Mortally wounded. My consciousness will go on to live in the body of my killer. My voice shall become one with his. Therefore, my voice will live on to tell the story. My story. The story. History needn't fear. For my voice, nor my identity, shall go unknown for long. My killer shall surely revel in taking my life. My voice, this one, shall continue. It will continue to be the voice of reason. A violent shift once again shakes the world the fighters live in. It is more intense than ever before.**

"Oh, dammit, not this crap again!" Lloyd exclaimed. He had just escorted the princess to the Tower of Salvation. The princess fell against Lloyd. "Geez, can I at least buy you dinner first?" Lloyd teased and grabbed her by the arm to hold her up. He drove a sword in the ground to hold himself up.

"How did you find me?" Peach asked amid the shaking.

"It was easier than it looked." Lloyd answered. "We all went to war and when the dust settled, I went looking for more!"

"You, you came to save me?"

"Bitch, please. Don't flatter yourself. I went to Chaos Shrine to fight for us, the good guys. You just happened to be there."

"Then why _did_ you save me?" The ground beneath them did one last grand jerk that took them off of their feet. The ground settled at their landing. Hitting the ground hard did not stop the princess from sitting up and flipping her hair out of her face to ask. "And why did you take me here instead of my Kingdom?"

"I said don't flatter yourself. If you must know, I only saved you because I knew that that's what Mario would have wanted." Lloyd sat upright "And whether anyone around here wants to admit it or not, we owe that guy, even in death. Hell, especially since his death. Maybe he wasn't the super nice guy you would expect to see. But when everyone else failed, he got the job done. And now that he's gone, everyone's just losing their shits, and we're even more blood thirsty for each other. Ya know why?"

"Because" the princess sighed "there is no hero."

"Wrong." Lloyd stood up. "It's because there's no apex predator. And without that, there is no order. We owe more to that guy than anyone likes to acknowledge. And me saving you is me paying my debt. Or something close to it. And by the way, _you_ followed _me_ here. And don't get any ideas. You've already been with Mario, I've _seen_ you with Wario, and I don't do sloppy thirds." At this, the princess stood up next to Lloyd. She looks up at him, before scowling and sighing.

"Lloyd, listen. Mario was not always . . . that way. It was fairly recent before coming here that he was made into the anti-hero you all knew. And . . . it was probably my fault."

"What did he get tired of rescuing you? Or did he find out about you and Wario? Probably both." Lloyd snickered.

"You" Peach smacked him across the cheek. "KNOW NOTHING OF MARIO BEFORE THIS PLACE AND EVEN LESS ABOUT ME!" Lloyd smirked at the princess.

"You're free to leave whenever you want, your highness."

"With pleasure."

 **Sector Z is not left untouched by this Third Quake. But in the space-like atmosphere, The Great Fox space vessel is not as heavily effected. The ship is still in ruins. But as time passes with Fox McCloud tirelessly working to fix it, it is a lot like me-fighting to stay alive. For how long, I cannot say.**

"Come on, come on, come on!" Fox paced around the ship. "I welded all the big parts back together. Why won't all these systems WORK?!" Fox angrily walked into the cockpit. "And _you_!" Fox said to the silent body of ROB 64. "You were working hours ago! Remember?" The robot was unresponsive. "Remember, I put a gun to your head and you worked?!" Fox began raising his voice to the point that an echo began to resonate about Sector Z. "Is that what I have to do, again?! IS THAT WHAT I HAVE TO DO, TO GET YOU TO WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Fox pulled out his blaster and pressed it against the robot's head. He waited for an automatic defensive response. . . . . . Nothing. "DAMN IT!" Fox smacked the robot with the butt of his gun with as much anger as he could muster, knocking the damaged robot's head clean off. It bounced and rolled, coming to a stop and facing Fox. "Oh no. I'm sorry ROB. Here let me help you."

 **The Third Quake sent Goku on a detour to find any stage he recognized. There were new ones he hadn't seen before. Confused and turned around, he eventually finds himself coming out of the Western Nexus leading to the Dream Land stage. There he sees Kirby. In my dying state, I am attempting to communicate with him while he is in his meditative state-one that he can only enter in the Dream Land stage. Kirby is sitting as I relay the information on Mario and Captain Falcon's fate. His face is expressionless until he sees Goku. He stands up as life returns to his face. The fighters approach each other.**

"Kirby, you're alive." Goku said in relief.

"I was going to say the same to you, Goku." Kirby responded. "What happened to you at Hyrule?"

"I-I almost had Fox. I was about to kill him. But then, he, he pulled a trump card on me."

"Explain."

"He had this link with his ship. Sonic and Tails were on his ship and had I killed Fox, the ship would have blown up."

"So, so you let him get away." Kirby sighed and hung his face.

"I'm sorry, he, he got me into a corner. I should have killed him before he even had the chance to activate that stupid signal."

"You are not solely to blame, Goku."

"But I am. Because when I went to try and save em, to save both of them from the ship before it exploded, I was too late."

"What?"

"He'd done it already. Fox. He'd blown up the ship already. All I saw was debris, with some of Sonic and Tails' hair mixed in. I couldn't save them and I _still_ left Fox alive. And I have no idea where Falcon is. I've failed you. I tried to lead us when Tails joined the other side and, I failed you all." At this, Kirby paused before pondering aloud.

"That doesn't quite add up."

"What doesn't?"

"I don't see Fox intentionally destroying his own ship. If anything, he knew _you_ wouldn't chance it. It's likely something else caused his ship to explode."

"Still, that means-"

"And Falcon has been taken care of."

"He has?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Here. When I am here. It is hard to explain. But my perception grows. It's as if something communicates with me the significant events that occur in this world. I can never see any explicit details, but I am able to make out some pieces to the missing puzzles. All that I can tell you is that Mario defeated Falcon and he is no longer a problem."

"Wait wait, Mario? But he's dead."

"I know. But that is the information I received. I have not been wrong thus far. Any mistakes I've made have come from not buying in to what I see when I am . . . here."

"So Mario's alive now?"

"I cannot say for certain if he still lives. But in either case, Falcon does not."

"Well that's good news, I guess."

"Where were you on your way to, Goku?"

"The world shifted a bit with that earthquake. I was sort of wandering."

"Then let us continue. We need to know what's going on and it's not safe to travel alone." Kirby led Goku through to the Nexus East of Dream Land Stage. They walked through until they phased through to the Hyrule ruins.

"This wasn't here." Goku noted.

"Typical." Kirby said.

"Oh no!" Goku said, spotting the bodies on the lower level of the stage. He quickly jumps down.

"Goku, wait. Be careful." Kirby jumped down after him. Goku landed next to Ness' corpse.

"Ness! No!" Ness' body still had the keyblade lodged deep inside. On the handle side of the blade lie Sora. Kirby landed and turned away from Goku and the bodies only to find another.

"Yoshi."Kirby said in mourning. "No." Kirby attempted to get closer to Yoshi's corpse but stopped when he accidentally stepped on an ice shard of Yoshi's tongue.

"We let them down, Kirby." Goku said in a pained voice. "We're here but they've _been_ dead here for who knows how long." Goku paused, turned away from the corpse and turned slowly to Kirby. "How _did_ you survive Kirby? I haven't seen anyone else and everyone I have seen is dead. What happened to you?" Kirby took a long blink before turning to Goku and answering.

"I . . .I." Kirby struggled to come to peace with what he was about to say. "I RAN AWAY, OKAY? YOU GOT ME. I AM A COWARD! THE BATTLE GOT BLOODY AND I I RETREATED!" Kirby stared angrily up at Goku. Goku hung his head and sighed. "Gok-" Goku back-flip kicked Kirby into the air before teleporting above the apex of Kirby's path. He hovered in the air, clasped his hands together and bashed Kirby back to the ground. Kirby landed next to Ness' body. Goku landed feet first onto Kirby. He hopped off the pink fighter and lifted him off the ground by the foot. "G-Goku." Kirby spit up blood. The blood landed on Ness' shirt, angering Goku further. The saiyan spun Kirby around by his foot before releasing him into the dirt walls. Kirby's body stuck to the wall briefly before falling back to the ground. Goku rolled Kirby over to face him.

"I've never had to treat a friend like this and mean it." Goku said in a pissed off voice. "You're lucky I don't have the power and strength I had back in my world. I'm not gonna kill you. But if I did, it wouldn't matter, because you're useless. You left us when we needed you most." Goku turned his back and looked up to leave. "Just stay out of my way, Kirby."

 **The princess searched for her stage amid this newly arranged world. She found herself in a strange green room. She tried her best to simply walk through, but was stopped when a brick wall appeared in front of her.**

"What the-" She stumbled back. "Megaman?" She wondered if the robot was responsible. After doing a double-take she jumped atop the wall. When she jumped again to get down, another wall appeared in the air and she hit her head. "Ow!" She fell to the ground. As she gets back to her feet, she is hit from behind and sent skyward. She turns to look down before descending. A fast moving figure comes rocketing up at her, taking her in his arms as he blasts upward. "Let go!" She shouts while doubled over his shoulder. The figure landed on another brick wall fixed in mid-air and put the princess down. "Hi-ya." She knocked him off the wall with her frying pan. He landed on a nearby wall. When she looked down at what was happening behind him, she saw several explosions. He had actually saved her. "Oh no. I'm sorry! Thank you for saving me. What is your name?" He grunted as he stood up.

"I'm the Bomberman. And what's your problem?" He said confusedly.

"Sorry. I was just scared."

"You ought to be."

 **Goku came upon Skull Mountain while searching for his friends. There he saw Megaman. He was excited to see that he was alive.**

"Megaman. You made it. I wasn't sure you were alive." Goku ran up behind him. Megaman did not turn around. "Megaman?" Megaman grabbed the saiyan by his gi, swung him to the opposite side and bombed the saiyan, sending him back. Goku lands and can only get to one foot. "What are you doing? What's wrong with you?" Megaman begins charging his cannon. The energy being taken in is much darker in hue than usual. Goku fires an energy bomb at Megaman. Without dropping his charge, Megaman puts up his reflector with his free hand. Goku dodges his own energy bomb but is hit with the dark megabuster blast. His body torpedoes and he is momentarily paralyzed when he hits the ground.

"There is nothing wrong with him." A voice said, approaching Goku from the other side. "He has merely been upgraded." The ground beneath Goku reformed around his arms, legs and torso to restrict him. He looked up. It was Black Mage.

"What are you doing?" Goku asked.

" _I_ am not taking any chances." Black Mage then froze Goku from the neck down. "Hyrule is a big stage, I guess you and Kirby didn't notice my presence. Nice going back there, by the way. Beating your friend to a pulp. Hell, you left him so vulnerable, I-"

"What did you do?!" Goku shouted from his disadvantaged position. "Did you kill hi-"

"Relax, brute. He wasn't worth my time. You on the other hand." Black Mage paused and played with a small spawn of lightning in his hands before continuing. "You were right with what you said to Kirby back there. It's a good thing you aren't as strong as you were before you came to this world. Of course even in your world, you wouldn't be able to defeat me."

"Then what does any of that matter to you?"

"It matters because, although you still would not match my power, you would be too close for my comfort. And it would be entirely too much trouble killing you then. So I'm just going to take care of it now."

"What? Wait, too much trouble then? You're speaking as if you have the power to leave this place whenever you want."

"Now you're getting it, boy."

"You have the power to take us all home! And you haven't?!" Goku got angry but was still helpless.

"Are you really surprised? Perhaps it's my fault for not letting all of you witness just what exactly it is I am capable of! The moment I was freed from the Grand Medallion, I could have left. But I stayed. Because this place is a buffet of heroes, ripe for the killing. I could leave now, but I'm not finished yet."

"You monster!"

"Flattery won't save you here, saiyan. You ought to worry less about my ability to travel and help others travel between worlds, seeing as you'll never make it back to yours. Megaman!" Black Mage looked up at the robot. Without any more words, Megaman approached Goku's downed and trapped position. Goku noticed Megaman's pupils were grossly discolored. " _I_ created Game Shark before he came here. _I_ lead Sora to his downfall. _I_ was the Grand Medallion that brought Wario here. _I_ am the source of all the conflict that eventually brought Captain Falcon here and killed Mario. I am _The_ Black Mage. I am the unmaking of every being that calls itself good. Filling a robot with my influence is child's play compared my full potential. It's too late for you, Goku. But one day, all of your friends will learn not to underestimate me."

"Even if you kill me, Black Mage, Mario is back. He and the others will rise to the challenge and kill you! He beat you before. He'll do it again."

"HA! You imbecile! Mario never defeated me!"

"What?"

"Wario was the one who triumphed over me. Mario was simply the distraction that led to my undoing. But as we can both see, that too was temporary. Wario and I shared a connection when I was trapped inside the Grand Medallion. I can tell from the lack of connection now that Wario is now dead. How he died is of little importance to me. Now the only one to ever defeat me is dead! And you're telling me now that the one most capable of killing me is Mario? The man that died? HMHMHMHM! Comical! I have no reason to fear Mario. But thank you for letting me know he lives so that I can re-kill him. I'll put it on the list." Goku looked up at Black Mage with surprise before looking back at Megaman's soulless, yet hue-filled pupils.

"Megaman." Goku pleaded. "You don't have to do this."

"Ah, yes." Black Mage said with a grin. "The moment of hopelessness that comes just before the death of my enemies. It's one of the things I live for." Megaman raised his cannon and pointed it at Goku's head. "Megaman is made better by my influence. His enhanced arsenal can cut down anything." Black Mage knelt down next to Goku's ear. "Even saiyan skin." Goku saw a projectile being spawned from Megaman's cannon. "You know the problem with you saiyans is . . ." Megaman launched a saw blade at Goku that sliced the saiyan's head clean off before getting lodged in the ground in front of Black Mage. Blood stained his hat and robes. Goku's decapitated head rolled to the side, eyes still open. "You can't quit while you're ahead."

Concluded.


	2. Chapter 2: Soul Salvation

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.9b, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **How does your memory serve you? Does it serve you well? Does it serve you at all? All of my memories are just that. Memories. I exist from a perspective in which memories are not of much use to me. Only the future. But as I lay here, dying, my memories are leaving me and becoming a part of him. My killer. In the Waiting Room, Lloyd runs up to his friend.**

"Link, what the hell are you doing alive?" Lloyd asked excitedly.

"I've been here the whole time." Link answered calmly.

"Bullshit. You _died._ I carried you, and buried you!"

"Must have done a lousy job. I'm here aren't I?"

"But how?"

"Well think about it?"

"What do you mean think about it?"

"Where else would I be?"

"What?"

"Where else would I be, Lloyd? Where else would I be?"

"In the . . . ground."

"This is the last place I was Link. How could I go anywhere? If this is where I died, then where else would I be?"

"You're freaking me out." Lloyd said, defensive.

"Where else would I be Lloyd?" Link's voice began deepening. "Where else would I be?" It continued to deepen. "Where else would I be? Where else would I be?" Where else would I b-"

"GAH!" Link awakened in a cold sweat. "Holy shit!" Link found himself lying down at Final Destination. "I don't remember coming here. Why am I here?" He looked around for any threats. "I gotta get the hell outta here!

 **So long is a fall from grace. For some, longer than others. I would know. Bomberman escorts Princess Toadstool back to her castle. Amid the new layout of this world, she has trouble finding her favorite: The mushroom Kingdom II stage.**

"So, how did you find yourself here?" The princess asked.

"Flash Bang. Long story." Bomberman answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It means there was this great big fight. And I was on the wrong side. Luckily instead of being dead, I'm just somehow here."

"I think you will find after while that you will prefer the former."

"Why, something wrong here?"

"Do you intend to stay?" The princess asked curiously.

"No. I figured someone like you would help me out of here. Where ever this is."

"You . . . " The princess paused. "I like your outlook. Thank you for escorting me." They phased through to the nexus West of the Hyrule Ruins.

"So what's the name of this place?"

"This world? I do not know."

"You don't know? But you're the princess."

"Not of this world. But of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Oh. So what are you doing here?"

"I did not have much choice in the matter."

"Oh? How exactly did you get here?" Bomberman asked as the two phased through to Hyrule.

"I was . . ." The princess fell silent when she saw the signs of struggle and drops of blood about the stage. "Something, happened." Peach ran and jumped down to the lower platform. She lands with grace, next to the body of Yoshi. "Oh no no no no!" Bomberman jumps down after her.

"What's wrong?" He says as he lands. "Oh, ew." He says, seeing the bodies.

"How. When, did I let all of this happen?" She said peering at all the bodies.

"If you're not the princess of this place, then why is any of this your fault?" Bomberman asked. The princess turned around and grimaced at him to see that his question was completely serious.

"W-will you please help me take and bury my friend?" She lifted Yoshi high as she could, just slightly off of the ground.

 **Fox had given up on fixing ROB 64 for the moment and moved on to parts of the ship he could fix. He was repairing an automatic century gun in the main hall to function individually until he could get the rest to function. He is re-wiring it when he feels a slight shock through the wires. He flinches before considering what caused it. He sits still momentarily. After the moment, he turns round quickly and fires several blaster shots behind him. A figure leaps clear of it and holds onto the parts of the ceiling.**

"Who are you?" Fox shouts at the intruder. Without answering, the intruder fires a rocket at Fox. Fox shoots it to bits. "Sop firing rockets in my ship!" Fox leaps toward the intruder. The intruder drops back to ground and waits for Fox to get above before unleashing a skyward screw attack. The intruder lands multiple blows in-air. Both fighters land on the floor, with the intruder pointing a cannon at the downed Fox. "Lower the cannon or I'll kill you." Fox said, even from his position. The intruder's arm in fact was the cannon. Like Megaman.

"Shut-up if you wanna live!" The intruder said.

"Whoa!" Fox said in response to the intruders surprisingly feminine voice. "You're a chick?"

"I'm a bounty hunter. And you're not on my list. Which means you're worth the same to me dead or alive. You have until my charge shot is at full power to answer my question." She began charging her energy ball. "Where is the Black Mage?"

"Bite me, bitch!"

"Wrong answer." she said as she shot the fully charged energy ball. Fox activates his reflector, bouncing the attack back at his intruder. She is shocked and sent flying down the hallway. Fox stands up leisurely.

"You're tall for a woman. Can't wait to break you down." Fox said approaching his target. She turned over on her stomach, writhing.

"I'll k-kill you." At this, Fox laughed.

"Some woman playing space-dess-up, kill me? Lady, you ain't got the balls." As Fox got closer, his target cradled into ball form and rolled away quickly, leaving a couple of explosives behind. They are not close enough to do harm but distracting enough for her to get away. "Well, I stand corrected."

 **Kirby went back to the Dreamland Stage, which was now not far from Hyrule.**

"I will find out what's going on. And I will atone for my cowardice. If I just meditate here a little longer, I should have enough information to come up with something."Before he made it long into his meditation, a vision of Goku's face with blood running from his eye and nose flashed at him. He quickly snapped from his state. "Good God. What the hell was that?" He hurried to his feet and began running to the nexus. "I've got to save him.

 **The princess and the Bomberman had given up on finding the Mushroom Kingdom II Stage. However, she settled when she came to the Tower of Salvation and made the stage into Yoshi's burial ground.**

"I owe him so much. Even Mario would not have have such a reputation without Yoshi's help." Peach said.

"Why bury him here?" Bomberman asked.

"I am not sure if what was left of my Kingdom is still here. And Lloyd does call this the Tower of Salvation. Perhaps laying him to rest here can ensure that his soul too will be somewhere better.

"This place looks kind of creepy for a name like that."

"Bomberman, your lack of a filter is beginning to grate my nerves."

"Hey, I was just-" Bomberman stopped talking suddenly before turning around quickly. "Who are you?" He said to a tall orange figure walking toward them.

"Don't use force, or I will." The figure said.

"Please." The princess pleaded. "Now is not a good time. State your name and business so that we can be done here. I'm tired of all . . . this." The figure sympathized.

"Alright. I'm Samus Aran. I'm looking for a Black Mage. You don't look like you'd have much to do with him. But I'll take any information you have, quickly."

"You must desire death to seek him out." Peach answered.

"So you do know about him. Where do I find him?"

"Follow any given path of destruction and suffering. You will run into him soon enough." Samus sighed at the princess' answer.

"Thanks for the info drama queen."

"Princess, actually. Princess Peach."

"Yeah, hopefully we don't have to meet again." Samus said fleeing.

 **Lloyd had trouble getting back to the Tower of Salvation. He found himself at the Nexus West of the Battlefield Stage. This Nexus led to a dead end. This sent him back East, to the Battlefield. When he got to mid-stage, he stopped walking.**

"How the _fuck_ do I get back to the Tower?" He said in frustration.

"What's it matter?" Said a dark voice from behind. Lloyd quickly turned round to meet it.

"Black Mage!" Lloyd saw.

"Honestly. What would you do when you got there? Just be there?"

"I might have waited to come and find you. But you've made the job easy."

"You confidence is puzzling. Megaman, give him the prize head."

"What?" Lloyd said turning around. He was hit with a round object that popped up and landed in his hands. It was Goku's severed head. His eyes looked as alive a the last time Lloyd had looked in them. "Ah!" Lloyd dropped the head. "You sick fucks!" Lloyd said as he looked up. He was surprised to see Megaman standing before him. It was him who threw the head. Megaman's body armor was darker than usual and his eyes were constantly changing hue. They looked to be terrified but the robot's body language said otherwise. "Megaman? What happened to you?"

"Do you like it?" Black Mage taunted from behind. "I call him, Dark Megaman. He is what he was, with my influence mixed in. He is an all around improvement over the scrap he was before. The closest thing there is to a perfect life-form, present company excluded of course. But I've done enough talking. Megaman, kill him." At Black Mage's command, Megaman threw a boulder Lloyd's way. Lloyd rolls toward Megaman to avoid it. Megaman spawns his drill in anticipation. Lloyd draws his swords to block the drill. "Push! Force! Kill him!" Black Mage shouted at Dark Megaman. Lloyd held his guard steady against the drill before kicking Megaman's legs out from under him. Lloyd leaps over the falling robot and rushes toward the Western Nexus. He phases through without pursuit. As Megaman gets to his feet and brushes himself off, Black Mage teleports in front of him and clubs him back to the ground. He then draws a rock from the ground that knocks his servant skyward. Megaman lands farther away from Black Mage. Black Mage teleports next to him. "What the hell was that? Why didn't you drive the drill into his skull?" The downed Megaman's eyes went back to their original color briefly before he finally uttered a sound for the first time since his corruption.

"Why don't you g-g-go to hell?" Megaman struggled to say with a smile. Black Mage angrily stomped his servant into the ground.

"So I didn't give you enough juice the first time. Easily corrected. You do realize that fixing this mistake is going to be excruciating for you, right?" He laughed maniacally.

 **My original origin was never a concern to me. For even knowing my origin does not do much in the way of determining my future. But now, I have no future. As I had previously existed, I was no more than an idea whose presence was so strong that I affected real lives. So ever-present that I became sentient and conscious. I was all-powerful and intangible. But at my defeat, I am now becoming even more powerful. This defeat was made possible by my recent and short-lived physical manifestation. Before now, mortality had no meaning to me. For an idea is neither living nor dead. It simply is. But my death is augmenting my perspective; through the transfer of my consciousness and memories to that of my killer I am both living and being reborn. What then, is true immortality. Is it simply the inability to die? Or is it made up of the countless near-death experiences in which he seems to always overcome the odds? As if death is not an absolute, but a question; a question he looks confidently in the eye and says calmly: "No." The Nexus East of The Battlefield now leads to Final Destination. Lloyd had found himself at the place he tried to avoid. As he passes through he notices the galaxy in the distance is showing flashes of electricity and is darkening in color.**

"Don't look at it Lloyd." Lloyd said to himself. "Just keeping running." He continued to run through the next Eastern Nexus. He phased through to what was now the Comet Observatory. The stage was experiencing another one of it's shifts in space and composition. Lloyd skidded to a stop. He wasn't sure if it was safe to continue. Suddenly, a compacted figure fell from the sky and landed in a three-point stance in front of Lloyd but facing away from him. Lloyd recognized the figure. "Mario?"

"The very same." The plumber said turning around to reveal his identity.

"B-but you're dead." Lloyd said getting back to his feet. The stage around them was still shifting. Only white streaks could be seen going by in background.

"Didn't you hear? Falcon did everything he knew how and brought me back for a rematch."

"And you fucking won?" Lloyd asked in amazement.

"Hm. I wouldn't call either of us winners, but you could say I got the most out of it."

"Well what happened? And what's going on with this world now? Why is everything changing?"

"Well, at the end of our battle it was time for me to go back to the Mirror Chamber, this world's closest thing to Heaven, so I did, and I took him with me."

"How the hell did that work out for ya?" Mario sighed before answering.

"Lloyd what do you think happens when you drop a vat of oil in the ocean?"

"It get's polluted, kills whatever's unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in the water."

"Precisely. If a pipeline bursts, some fish will even suffocate on land to get away from such fate. Even the strongest will bleed from the gills as they attempt to make oxygen out of oil. I've been to the Mirror Chamber. I know what that afterlife is supposed be. And what I just came from, isn't it. I know how to weather this ailment. But the Heaven's are bleeding Lloyd. And I doubt the rest of you will survive."

"What makes you say that? We've all been through worse." Lloyd questioned.

"I can't explain now, how I know." Mario said clinching his fist in flame and hanging his head. Curious, Lloyd asked:

"Mario, if you had to go back to the afterlife, how did you get back? Here?" Mario lifted his head to face Lloyd. His left pupil shined a bright gold. He raised his fist into fighting stance slowly.

"Oh. You're gonna find out, soon."

End of Ch. 2


	3. Chapter 3: Bred for Blood, part 2

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.9b, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **What is the philosophy of the most primal of wild animals? It can only be one of two things. It can be the question, "How will I prolong my time of death, and for how long can I do it?" or "I will continue to survive; how will I do it this time?" Which philosophy is on the mind of Lloyd as he defends himself against the ferocious onslaught of Mario. At the Comet Observatory, the stage shifting had come to a halt. Mario rolls clear of Lloyd's Rising Falcon attack. Mario clinches an open hand and drives his fingers into Lloyd's lower back, paralyzing him momentarily, but not knocking him down.**

"Damn." Mario said as he punched Lloyd twice before kicking him to the ground.

"What the hell is your deal?" Lloyd ask scrambling to his feet.

"Don't think too much of it, kid." Mario said shooting a fireball at Lloyd.

"Guardian!" Lloyd put up his protective shield, deflecting the fireball. When he took the shield down, he was immediately hit in the face with a flying kick. Lloyd hits the ground end over end.

"There's a reason for everything Lloyd." Mario said walking up to his downed opponent. "We're all just too many heroes in one place." He kicked Lloyd in the stomach, sending him rolling a few feet over. "I never asked to be important, ya know. All the saving I've done has been good for everyone but me." As he stepped closer to Lloyd, Lloyd quickly pulled one sword and stabbed it through Mario's foot, effectively nailing him to the floor. "AH! You little prick!" Lloyd attempts to sever Mario's foot with his remaining sword, but Mario uses the bottom of his other shoe and steps on the blade. "I'll _kill you._ "Mario yanks the other sword from his foot. "GAH!" Mario screamed in pain as he raised the sword to pierce his downed target. The stage begins to shift again. The distraction lends Lloyd enough time to snatch his other sword from beneath Mario and take him off his feet.

"Good to see you can still be hurt, dead man."

"Dead." Mario said getting up. "Alive. That line is so much more blurry than you know." He raised Lloyd's sword. The stage stops shifting. The fighters now stand on the opposite side of a doughnut shaped ice ring. Mario leaps across the hole to Lloyd and begins attacking with the sword. Lloyd blocks four swings before pushing Mario back.

"You really gonna draw a sword against _me_?" Lloyd short-hopped at Mario. "Tempest!" Lloyd's sword clanged against Mario's multiple times as Mario blocked. On the icy surface, the impact slid Mario to the hole in the ice and over the ledge. Mario panics and tosses the sword skyward to catch himself on the ledge. Lloyd catches the sword and re-sheaths both of them. At the opportunity, he fleas for the Eastern Nexus.

"Don't you go thinking this is over." Mario said carefully pulling himself back up.

 **What is proof that most action is futile? A hero's life. Because when he dies, a void is left. And into that void moves evil. In such case, he is not a vanquisher of any problem. Simply a delaying of the inevitable. The truest achievement is marked when his passing halts all conflict. What was Son Goku's worth as a decapitated body? At Skull Fortress, Kirby finds the corpse.**

"Goku. I truly failed you." Blood still ran from the empty neck. He saw the saw-blade lodged in the ground nearby. "Megaman? Why would he have done this?"

"I would worry more about yourself, Kirby?" A voice said from behind.

"Impossible." Kirby turned to see the voice. "Meta Knight!"

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten me." Meta Knight took a step toward Kirby. Kirby takes a step back and accidentally steps on Goku's corpse. It disturbs him. "Never in all my years of pursuing you did I ever think you'd become a murderer."

"I didn't do this! You have no idea the events that lead to this!"

"That's not much of my concern. Now draw your sword."

"I, I don't have it."

"Don't lie to me, Kirby. You will draw your sword, and you will fight."

 **Samus' Search eventually took her through Phase 8, a stage filled with molten lava. She does not find Black Mage but she is found by Fox McCloud. The two stand opposite sides of the stage.**

"What do you want?" Samus asked apprehensively.

"No one pays your kind of visit and gets away with it." Fox replied.

"We both know that's not it. Shouldn't you be more worried about that scrap heap of a ship?"

"I'll teach you to hold your tongue." Fox said as he began closing the distance between them. They met at the middle platform and began exchanging strikes. Fox was surprised to see that Samus was matching him blow for blow. Fox crouches beneath a low punch and uses his momentum to leap onto Samus upper body. He struggles briefly before removing her helmet. Her head is exposed. Her blonde hair cascades down as if in rebellion. Fox is taken by surprise and hesitates. "Oh, wow." In that moment, Samus takes a hold of Fox with her grapple beam and slams him to the ground before jumping to the platform below. When Fox recovers, he follows suit and jumps to the platform below. He does not see his opponent when he lands. Samus comes from behind with a chop with her cannon. Fox moves his head aside and catches her arm with both hands, locking it against his shoulder.

"Idiot." Samus said as she shot a rocket from her cannon. The heat scorches Fox's neck and the rocket hits the ground in front of him. The explosion throws him into Samus. She slams him face-first back into the ground. "You ought to be one of my targets. That'd be an easy pay day." The shielding around the platform activated. Samus knew what that meant. "Stay down. Or you'll get cooked." Samus said as she fled for the Eastern Nexus."

"Hm?" Fox tilted his head up and saw a tsunami of molten lava coming his way. The shield protected him as he stayed within it. "What a lady." He dropped his head back down.

 **Lloyd did not stop fleeing until he was sure he had lost Mario. He wasn't sure how Mario was still alive or what the glowing pupil in the plumber's left eye meant. But he knew it couldn't possibly be good. Or fair. He stopped at the Sky Sanctuary Zone. He had noticed the huge floating platform that was once there was gone, but paid it no mind. He sits down to rest. As he does so, an unknown force lifts him back to his feet slowly.**

"What the?" Lloyd says, floating toward the sky. "What the hell is going on?" He draws his swords and begins attacking frantically at the air. "Tempest!" He tries in vain to regain control. He blacks out as he reaches his apex. He awakens in the Mirror Chamber. It is a hall of clouds and mirrors at different elevations. It was just as Mario had described it to Lloyd. This world's closest thing to heaven. "Where am I?" Lloyd drew one sword and walked down the long pathway that lie before him. "This must be where Mario came from. The place he was talking about." As he was walking, a mirror spawned in front of him invitingly. He looks at it for a moment before turning around. "Nope, nope, nope, nope." He starts to walk away. Suddenly, he is hit by an exploding fireball that launches him backwards through the mirror. He phases through to a different part of the Mirror Chamber. His attacker steps through the mirror that he fell through. He is surprised to see that it is a beautiful brunette woman. It definitely wasn't Peach. She was even more attractive, to Lloyd at least. She does not attack Lloyd when she phases through. She simply walks to the side and steps through another nearby mirror.

" **Oh don't mind her. She was just helping you find your way. You were taking a while is all."**

"Shit. Link?" Lloyd turned around and stood up to see Link, sitting on a throne in the center of the cloud upon which they stood. On his right side, the woman who attacked Lloyd stepped out of a mirror and stood by his side.

" **In the flesh. More or less."** Link's voice resonates at two frequencies. A soft baritone undertone. And a louder overtone of his regular voice. **"Don't worry, this isn't Final Destination playing tricks on your mind again. This is the real deal."**

"What the hell happened to you?"

" **I, am the new voice of reason. The new ruler of this world. When Sora killed me, I found myself here, with the old ruler."**

"And who was that?"

" **A being with a God complex that called himself Master Hand and manifested himself physically as a giant hand. Oh, where are my manners. Lloyd this is Zelda. If this world had much time left, I would call her my Queen. But for now, that must wait."**

"What do you mean? Why don't we have much time left?"

" **There is a reason that only misery seems to occur here in this world. The Mirror Chamber houses all of the good and leaves nothing to the rest. It was likely made that way by Master Hand to help him cope with the hopeless situation he had created. When I arrived, he explained to me that the Mirror Chamber is only home to this world's ruler, the greatest of heroes, the pure of heart, and the dead. Any living thing that is not decorated with good deeds and intentions will poison that fabrics that hold his world together. Things that should be dead will find themselves spilling over into your world."**

"Like Mario."

" **Precisely. Lloyd, do you remember when dangerous items used to just fall from the sky when we fought? Do you know why that happened? It was because Master Hand gave them to us. He said the intent was not to get us to kill each other, only to bring out true heroes, but I didn't believe a word of that. We were all just a big real-life TV show for some omniscient creature that still didn't know why he was here. It was Master Hand that brought us all here. With a snap of his giant fingers, he brought us all here, in groups so that it wouldn't be suspicious. Any event that brought us from our worlds to this one was just a catalyst for him to enact his power."**

 ***** FLASHBACK: MASTER HAND PREPARES THE DENIZENS OF THE MIRROR CHAMBER FOR THE THIRD QUAKE *****

 **Master Hand: "Link, Mario, prepare yourselves. Because of Mario's mistake of allowing Captain Falcon into the Mirror Chamber, I must go to my backup plan."**

Link: "And just what plan is that?"

Mario: "I also am curious." Mario chimed in.

" **I have told you both. Allowing someone like Falcon into the Mirror Chamber is the worst thing we could do. This stage will begin to bleed into the those of the living. This world will become unstable."**

"Bleed into that of the living?" Mario asked. "You mean we could end up back down there with them?"

" **That was a one-time agreement, Mario. You must not take advantage of the mistake that you carelessly made. The consequences will be grave."**

"So what's the plan?" Link asked.

" **I must bring more fighters to this world to tame it."**

"What?!" Link didn't like that answer.

" **Worry not. Most of the fighters I will bring will have intentions of coming here. I would simply be helping them tug at fate's coattails. Much like when you all came to this world."**

"Who exactly are you bringing here?" Mario asked.

" **They are of little importance. A lowly bounty hunter, a wild animal, a princess. People of little impact."**

"What princess do you speak of?"

" **I will hide nothing from you, Link. I intend to bring Zelda to this world."**

"You will do no such thing!"

" **I do not intend to make her a part of the chaos below us. She is attempting to travel to this world as we speak. I can do nothing to stop her from coming here. But with my help, she will spawn here in the Mirror Chamber and not down below. I can make an exception for her. She will be safe."**

"I hope you're a man of your word, Master Hand."

" **I am not a man. And thus, my word is above all."** Master hand stretched himself open before clinching tightly. A violent quake hits the Mirror Chamber and a Mirror appears in front of Link. Out of the mirror steps Princess Zelda.

"Princess!" Link said "I-"

"Link, there is no time." Zelda interrupted him. "I am aware of everything. And soon you will be too. Before you disappeared, remember, I told you that when you brought the Master Sword back to me I would tell you what to do. But you never made it back. Now I'm here to tell you what you must do with it." At the end of her sentence, she stared sternly at Master Hand. Link looked at Master Hand and then turned back to Zelda.

"I can't kill him." Link said.

" **He is correct."**

"He's too powerful."

"I hate to be rude." Mario interjected. "But at what point did Master Hand ever tell us that he was immortal?"

"He . . . didn't." Link realized.

" **But I cannot simply be killed as you humans can. It is in your best interest not to try."**

"He's right." Zelda said. "But you have the correct tool to kill him. Your sword was destined to do much greater things than you did back in _our_ world. The destiny of your sword begets its namesake." At this, Link unsheathed his sword. "You wield the Master Sword. And thus, you have the power to obliterate the Master Hand." At this, Link turned to face Master Hand.

" **Link. I plead with you to think before you act."**

"This is _all_ your doing." Link said.

" **I am the reason you and Mario are even conscious right now. When you both came here, I could have allowed you to turn into trophies like the others who were worthy enough to come here. But I allowed you and Mario to live. And do you know why? It was because I saw that you two were deserving of a true afterlife. Without Me, Link and Mario, both of you would be stone-faced idols."**

"Don't listen to him Link." Zelda advised. "I read more about him in the Hylian Archives when you disappeared. He is less confrontational, but more dangerous than Ganon. The only reason you and Mario are alive is because there was something stopping him from destroying you or turning you to trophies like the others. In your case, you posses the Master Sword. He cannot harm you so long as you possess it."

"Wait!" Mario interjected. "Make him tell us how to get out of here, while we have an advantage."

" **You fools. There is no escape. I am your best chance at survival here in this world."**

"He's lying. Game Shark escaped from Sora's body and from this world when I defeated him. If he doesn't want to tell us then he's no use to us alive."

" **Link. Be your own decision-maker. Know the consequences. If you kill me, you will be tasked with being the new ruler of this world and keeping the order. Is that really something you want?"** Link smirked as he answered.

"I'll gladly take that responsibility off your hands." Link dashed toward Master Hand and leaped at him, sword fully erect. He pierced the giant hand through the middle of the palm.

" **It . . . seems you've won."** Master hand grimaced and fell to the cloud. Link pulled his sword from the giant. A light-aura began slowly flowing from Master Hand into Link.

"What is this?" Link asked.

" **It, is going to hurt, a lot. My power, my knowledge, my memories. They are all being transferred to you."**

"Good, I'll find my own way out of here-AH! AH!" Link sheathed his sword and held his head in pain. He dropped to his knees.

"The pain will subside, soon, Link." Zelda reassured the hero. "The memories of all your ancestors and all the past warriors of our world who bore your namesake are being channeled into you as well. You will rise from this as the ultimate hero.

*END OF FLASHBACK: LINK, WITH ZELDA AT HIS SIDE, CONTINUES TO INFORM LLOYD ON WHAT IS HAPPENING.*

"So? Have you figure out a way to fix all this then?" Lloyd asked.

" **I have, Lloyd."** Link answered. **"But the answers are not as simple as you would think. I gained the knowledge from Master Hand. I see clearly some of his motives. But I will use that supreme reasoning to protect the ones I love."** Link looked to his right and held Zelda's hand in his. **"I fully intend to look out for the two of you and ensure we all find our way back home. It won't be long from now. This world is still falling apart. And at the apex of its destruction, it will be weak enough for Zelda and I to use the mirrors to generate a passage out of here.**

"What about everyone else?" Lloyd asked.

" **They are not deserving to go back to their home worlds, Lloyd. You've seen their behavior."**

"What makes us that much better than them?"

" **When did you become a humanitarian, Lloyd."**

"Think what you wanna think about me, but I'm still a hero and I still know what's right. Master Hand put us through all of this _together._ On some level we're all bonded. Save for a couple, we're all heroes in this together, like it or not. Those of us that are still alive anyway."

" **Why are you defending them?"**

"I don't think they're all bad. I think it's just bad for us all to be together in a world where none of us belong."

" **They are all even more primal, violent, and bloodthirsty than when we first got here."**

"Master Hand really did pollute your mind."

" **Damn it Lloyd. I'm still me. I've only been enlightened."**

"Then you should be able to understand that we're all just fighters, born for battle."

" **And bred for blood."** Lloyd hung his head slightly.

"I think I've lost you for good this time, Link.

End of chapter 3


End file.
